Parking at KHPN

nfeldberg

Filing Flight Plan
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Marthius
I'm a new PPL and have very limited experiance actualy parking anywhere other than my home Airport/FBO. The context is that I want to fly into KHPN for a few hours and see family for a meal. Do I need to park at an FBO or is there some kind of GA transient parking I would use in this case? Since it's Westchester should I expect to be charged an arm and a leg just to stop there for a few hours?

Similarly, what if I only want to stop long enough to pick up friends and get back in the air? Would that change anything, would I still need to pay parking fees, ramp fees, etc?

I know these are really basic questions but I am having some trouble finding direct answeres online.
 
Just call the FBO to find out their fees.
 
^^ that’s really the best way. Keep in mind that some fees may be waived if you purchase a certain amount of fuel (even if you don’t need fuel), so be sure to ask about that.
 
the easiest way to explain this - is you stop on their ramp (FBO), they will charge you whatever fees they have. It doesnt matter if its 5 seconds or 5 hours. They will generally waive certain handling fees if you get fuel from them.

Some airports will have a general area that you can drop off and pick up, or even park without landing, ramp, fbo fees etc. HPN isndefinitely not one of them.
 
I try to always call the FBO for information ,fees aren’t always listed on foreflight or airnav. Better to have the info from the source.
 
I wouldn't ever expect an FBO (or any for-profit business) to guide me in how to avoid using their services and paying them accordingly. No knock on them for that, per se, it's just not in their interest -- so long as they aren't deceptive about how they get pilots on their ramp.

I would not expect a self-tie-down area, or a simple gate through the fence. Sadly, those days are long gone near as I can tell, especially at a place like HPN with high proportion of bizjet traffic. Do they still have some 121 scheduled service there? That makes it more complex because TSA has their "sterile" "secure" areas. Even at airports that have that kind of free access, the tie downs may be simply anchors with no ropes or ropes of questionable integrity; or no tie-downs at all -- just space off an apron or taxiway, strictly BYO anything you need.

You're doing your diligence by asking here, checking airport websites, diagrams, A/FD, etc. Unfortunately, I'm doubtful you'll find what you're looking for in this case.
 
There is a comment on ForeFlight from two months ago that recommends Million Air (and echoed by earlier posts, all praising Million Air). Fee was $20 for a Cirrus SR 20. Other comments recommend avoiding Signature because of high fees.
 
Good for you for asking these questions / covering the bases. I call the FBO at new to me airports not only to get information on fees, but also check on other items like self serve or full serve fuel, any special information about the airport, do they have courtesy cars available, etc.
 
Rampfee.me and call the airport manager to ask for transient parking. HPN probably does not have any but a call will tell you for sure.

I parked at signature at HPN. For the $150? parking I spent, it was kind of run down and they were grumpy about my little single engine piston cluttering their ramp. But I arrived after midnight, and they were the only option.
 
Thank you for the help everyone. I will give them a call and check out Million Air. It's a shame that it looks like there is no quick free parking but I guess I won't be flying in there too often.
 
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